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Today Kerry and I met up with eG member Marlene of princess camping fame (http://forums.egulle...princess-style/). She was midway on her journey from Calgary to her cottage in Bracebridge and stopped for a few days in her old neighbourhood. We dragged her on our usual tour of thrift shops before finding our way back to Bombay Grill.

There we each ordered a dish and then shared.

First up onion bhajis (there were six but we were rude again and started eating before photographing!

Then naan

(Both sides for Dejah!)

Basmati rice

Butter chicken, lamb roganjosh and beef balti (from right to left)

Closeup of the lamb

judiu, Shelby and rotuts like this

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Never call a stomach a tummy without good reason.” William Strunk Jr., The Elements of Style

It is so great to be in Oakville for a few days, and even better to be able to once more, be part of the Ladies Who Lunch! Thanks Anna and Kerry for a fabulous day, a great lunch and some great shopping. I even found something that will work great at the cottage!

After a couple of errands, Kerry and I headed out to Markham and J Town. This is a small Japanese enclave housing everything from a beauty salon to an izakaya (pub). Depending on the health of your bank account you can buy Tamworth or Berkshire pork or $700 per kilo wagyu beef.

I had scoped out J Town on the internet a day or so ago and was very excited to see a pub (finally licensed!) serving Japanese bar food and suggested to Kerry that we should go there for lunch. She fully endorsed the idea until we arrived and were checking it out. Right next door was a Ramen House! Kerry's in her ramen phase and we were in J Town to source ingredients for her experiments. I could see the hesitation in her face, feel the pain of her indecision-- pub food? ramen? ramen? pub food? Being the sport she is, pub food won. I don't think either of us had any regrets.

She took photos of the menu posted in the window but reflections make them pretty much illegible. Here's their on-line one:

On our list of lunch possibilities was a place just inside the Mississauga border called Mango Rain (www.mangorain.ca). Run by a Thai woman and her Indian husband it is a small but very friendly restaurant.

I had a Steam Whistle

Pappadom

We ordered a Thai and an Indian appetizer--spring rolls and vegetable pakora

Then butter chicken with rice and cashew chicken with potatoes which we shared.

And naan of course. Not as tasty as that at the Bombay Grill but light and flaky.

We had lots of leftovers to take home but still had a mission to fulfill--sample McDonald's just-introduced poutine:

Yesterday we returned to Bombay Grill much sooner than we normally would. We needed to deliver chocolate to the owner to say thanks for a special favour. On a cold and slushy day it was no hardship to eat delicious Indian food again!

So on Monday we headed out to the airport to retrieve a package. It should have been an easy drive but a police investigation closed every access we tried, By the time we reached the cargo depot we were almost out of time as Kerry was working an aftenoon shift. Choice for lunch came down to speed! Nothing is faster than a bowl of pho from Pho Dau Bo.

Beef rare and well done for me

Chicken and beef for Kerry

The add-ons.

Oops. It was Monday not Sunday as I originally typed. The weather was dreadful on Sunday.

Edited by Anna N, 25 December 2013 - 07:55 AM.

judiu likes this

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Never call a stomach a tummy without good reason.” William Strunk Jr., The Elements of Style

Today we headed into Toronto to deliver chocolate to one address and a mold to another. On our way there I consulted my list of things to do and places to eat and Pho Phuong showed up as a place we wanted to visit for their highly rated Bahn Xeo. It was conveniently on our way home from the big city.

First up a refreshing beer for me!

Dipping sauces appeared first

Then these crispy Cha Gio (deep fried spring rolls). I was fascinated by the carrot garnish!

Yesterday was incredibly cold even for the GTA. The temperature hovered around minus 16 but with the wind chill was closer to minus 30. We grocery shopped and after Kerry loaded all the food into the car (I got to sit inside!) we wanted some place warm and cozy for lunch. Few places are cozier than the West Plains Bistro. A warm welcome, a seat up on a raised platform in front of a fire place (unlit unfortunately) but toasty warm and we quickly thawed out.

Their signature water garnished with a cranberry and a lemon wedge

Kerry ordered the quiche of the day which was crab with a side salad

I ordered the chicken pot pie with their house frites.

As you see, the frites are MIA! But they did arrive and were so worth the wait. We shared them but failed to take a photo.

Crab quiche sounds tasty. The only quiche I've seen on menus around here is the usual Lorraine. I rarely eat quiche and I never make it but I might be willing to bend that for a crab version. Of course, chicken pot pie is always a good thing.

It warmed up to around -16 this afternoon, we were sitting at -41 (temp, not wind chill) when I went to work yesterday so it feels like spring today. Of course, warming up here during the winter just means snow. We're under a snowfall warning for today and it's been coming down pretty steady since early this morning.

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.